Rams get to stay together

From left, Austin Batchelor, Travon Williams, Ronshon Bullock and Greene Central coach Allen Wooten are seen at the school’s media center on Monday morning as the players all signed with N.C. Wesleyan.

Janet S. Carter / The Free Press

By Michael Moon / Correspondent

Published: Monday, June 2, 2014 at 03:14 PM.

SNOW HILL — A trio of Greene Central football players will travel together about an hour north on Highway 58 to suit up for N.C. Wesleyan College this fall.

Austin Batchelor, Ronshon Bullock and Travon Williams all played their entire varsity careers for the Rams and went through the recruiting process together before making a joint announcement Monday morning in the Greene Central media center in front of their family, coaches and members of the media.

“It means a lot,” Batchelor said of playing at the next level with a pair of his high school teammates. “I put in three years of work with these guys. We have grown together, and now we’ve made it.”

Each player brings with him a unique skill set that should benefit Battling Bishops, who finished their 2013 campaign with a 2-8 mark.

“I wish I had four years to coach these guys,” said Greene Central coach Allen Wooten, who led the Rams to a 3-9 finish and first-round playoff berth in his first year last season. “They’re good players and even better people. They have the willpower and the dedication to succeed at anything.”

All three players were selected to the All-Free Press football team, and both Batchelor and Bullock were All-Conference selections as well.

SNOW HILL — A trio of Greene Central football players will travel together about an hour north on Highway 58 to suit up for N.C. Wesleyan College this fall.

Austin Batchelor, Ronshon Bullock and Travon Williams all played their entire varsity careers for the Rams and went through the recruiting process together before making a joint announcement Monday morning in the Greene Central media center in front of their family, coaches and members of the media.

“It means a lot,” Batchelor said of playing at the next level with a pair of his high school teammates. “I put in three years of work with these guys. We have grown together, and now we’ve made it.”

Each player brings with him a unique skill set that should benefit Battling Bishops, who finished their 2013 campaign with a 2-8 mark.

“I wish I had four years to coach these guys,” said Greene Central coach Allen Wooten, who led the Rams to a 3-9 finish and first-round playoff berth in his first year last season. “They’re good players and even better people. They have the willpower and the dedication to succeed at anything.”

All three players were selected to the All-Free Press football team, and both Batchelor and Bullock were All-Conference selections as well.

Austin Batchelor: Quarterback

Batchelor ran the Rams’ pistol offense as a senior and was a two-year varsity starter for Greene Central. He threw for 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns and ran for another. He was a first-team selection at quarterback on the All-Free Press team and expects to compete for playing time immediately at the next level.

The Bishops only two signal-callers — both rising juniors — currently on the roster.

“I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody, but I have looked at the film of those guys, and I have just as good an arm as they do,” Batchelor said. “I plan to work hard and go in and compete right away.”

Wooten agreed with his quarterback’s assessment of the situation.

“The QB position is thin,” he said, “and Austin is a natural fit.”

Batchelor, who was also recruited by Methodist, visited Wesleyan in January and left feeling impressed by the small-school, family atmosphere in Rocky Mount.

The Bishops run a spread offense, and Batchelor said he felt like he was ready to make the different types of throws that will be required of him at the next level.

“The quick game, the slants, the deep game: I can make all types of throws,” he said. “I still need to work on my footwork, timing and reading defenses, as well as knowing what to audible into and out of.”

Batchelor plans to study criminal justice once he arrives on campus. For now, though, he is enjoying his accomplishment.

“It feels good,” he said. “I’m 160 pounds. A lot of people looked down on me and told me I was too little and wouldn’t ever make it. Not too many guys can say they have played college football.”

Ronshon Bullock: Running back/Linebacker

Like many Greene Central players, Bullock was asked to play on both sides of the football for most of his career. He was primarily a linebacker as a freshman and sophomore. As the Rams’ featured running back as a senior, his action at linebacker was much more limited in his final season in Snow Hill.

Wooten, who coached one of Wesleyan’s starting linebackers when he was a position coach at North Pitt, said Bullock has the same build and could be asked to move to defense once he arrives on campus.

“He was 201 pounds in season, and he’s up to 228 now,” Wooten said. “He’s filling out and growing into a man.”

That size, combined with Bullock’s quickness, figures to be an asset for the Bishops. Bullock said his coaches talked to him about playing both running back and linebacker during the recruiting process.

He rushed for over 900 yards and seven touchdowns and added 80 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air as a senior, good enough for an All-Conference nod.

Bullock visited Wesleyan in November, shortly after the end of his senior season, and liked the familiarity of the offense — the Bishops run a spread offense similar to the one installed by Wooten this year at Greene Central.

Bullock was also recruited by UNC-Pembroke and Methodist and said choosing a school was a difficult decision. Ultimately, that decision came down to a couple of factors.

“They have a good football program and a good major,” said Bullock, who plans to study exercise science.

He also likes the idea of playing college football with a pair of his high school teammates, adding, “I can still be with my boys.”

Most importantly, Bullock said he feels like he can contribute right way to the Wesleyan program.

“I have good field vision, and I tackle good,” he said. “I still have the linebacker skills. I need to work some at running back, on my juking and my footwork.”

Travon Williams: Offensive/Defensive line

Williams lost his mother about six months ago and found the perfect way to make her proud. Wesleyan’s location is convenient for the lineman and his family, which include his grandmother, Delores Williams.

“I can shoot home anytime, I guess,” he said, “and I made my grandma and mama proud.”

Being close to home was another factor Williams did not take lightly.

The biggest of the Wesleyan signees from Greene Central, Williams also saw more time on the field than either of his teammates, as a staple on the offensive line and at nose guard on defense.

Offensively, Williams notched 14 pancake blocks while playing both guard and tackle. His prowess at nose guard, however, is what earned Williams All-Free Press distinction, as he recorded 35 tackles, including 10 for a loss, to go along with a pair of sacks and three blocked kicks.

He visited Wesleyan with Bullock in November. Like Bullock, Williams plans to study exercise science. Unlike Bullock, Williams is unlikely to continue his career as both an offensive and defensive player, as the Bishops have him pegged as a defensive lineman.

That’s fine by Williams.

“I prefer to play more defense,” he said. “I feel like I can make plays happen for other people, not just for myself.”

Williams was also recruited briefly by N.C. A&T State University, but he said the opportunity to play for Wesleyan was too much to pass up.

“It feels good,” Williams said of having a chance to play alongside his high school teammates. “You have to meet new people in life, too, but I’m glad to have them by my side.”

Williams already has the size and strength of a college football player and said he plans to work on his speed and footwork in the offseason.

Wooten said he expects all three athletes to fit in well at Wesleyan.

“All three guys are very humble,” Wooten said. “They’re not cocky or arrogant. They’re hard workers and will be good members of the program.”